Green Bay - The Green Bay Packers are definitely taking measures to make sure quarterback Aaron Rodgers does not get hit by the punishing San Francisco 49ers defense.

But does that mean Rodgers is intent on staying out of harm's way?

When the Packers and 49ers met at Lambeau Field in Week 1, the Rodgers who took three-step drop after three-step drop barely resembled the guy who tried to extend so many plays this season that he was sacked more than any other quarterback in the NFL.

The 49ers definitely didn't want Rodgers to beat them with his scrambling ability and made sure their rushes were very disciplined.

But the Packers also came up with a game plan that was different from most others they've had this season and limited the risk of Rodgers taking big shots. They continually had Rodgers take three steps back and unload the ball on hitch, curl, slant and swing routes, putting the onus on his receivers to get the big yardage.

Of the 50 or so times Rodgers dropped back to throw in that game, more than half of his attempts were plays calling for him to get rid of the ball on rhythm after a short drop. Only about a dozen plays were designed rollouts or resulted in him buying time to find a receiver down the field.

Rodgers gave credit to the 49ers for being disciplined with their rush and acknowledged he didn't think he was going to outrun speedy linebackers like Ahmad Brooks, Aldon Smith, Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman.

"I mean, they do a good job with rush-lane integrity and having Brooks on one side and Aldon on the other side," Rodgers said. "They want to keep things in front of them, they want to have vision to the football, they rally quickly up to the football and they're very athletic.

"I'm not thinking I'm going to be able to outrun a lot of those guys on defense, and that might be one of the reasons that there were more throws from the pocket."

Standing in and hitting the open spots in the 49ers' zone isn't a bad idea. It's the way New England quarterback Tom Brady rallied his team from a 31-3 third-quarter deficit in a game the 49ers eventually won, 41-34, in Week 15.

Brady stood in the pocket and kept hitting his receivers over the middle or in the flats until the 49ers crept in. Then he would throw a long pass down the sideline. The Patriots scored four straight touchdowns on drives of 73, 86, 66 and 92 yards.

Brady finished the night 36 of 65 for 443 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.

The Packers, who appear close to being full strength at wide receiver, have the option of trying this tactic again. Part of the reason it didn't work the first time was there was no complement of a running game.

Cedric Benson was not in tune with his new offensive line and the 49ers kept showing different looks that forced coach Mike McCarthy to make adjustments. The Packers had a respectable 324 yards of offense but gained just 45 yards on 14 carries on the ground.

"I had a chance to look at the first game and there are some things we can do better," McCarthy said Tuesday. "I thought for the most part, the things we did at the line of scrimmage, there were some clean looks. But our execution level wasn't where we wanted it to be, that's for sure."

In formulating a game plan this week, McCarthy will be counting on new personnel .

In the opener, the offensive line was Marshall Newhouse at left tackle, T.J. Lang at left guard, Jeff Saturday at center, Josh Sitton at right guard and Bryan Bulaga at right tackle. Benson was the lead back and Alex Green was his backup.

On Saturday night at Candlestick Park, Evan Dietrich-Smith will play in place of Saturday and rookie Don Barclay in place of Bulaga. First-year pro DuJuan Harris, called up from the practice squad Dec. 1, will be the lead back and veteran Ryan Grant, signed Dec. 5, will be the backup.

"We're a different football team," Rodgers said. "They're playing differently. They have a lot of the same players obviously, but we've got some different faces out there and we're doing some different things.

"We didn't have a great opportunity to get the run game going out there. We tried to get Cedric going and now we're at our fifth different starting running back in DuJuan Harris. Teams kind of figure out their identity during the season."

For the offensive line, keeping Smith (19½ sacks), Brooks (6½) and defensive tackle Justin Smith (3) off Rodgers is the No. 1 priority. The 49ers didn't blitz a lot in the last meeting and it may come down to the line's ability to block San Francisco's four-man rush.

Even if the line does play well, it still might come down to Rodgers scrambling and trying to buy time for his receivers to get open. The 49ers could flood the secondary with defensive backs and make pocket passing difficult.

There's risk if Rodgers takes off running too often, but the strength of his game is making something happen instead of waiting for it to happen.

The 49ers are not counting on Rodgers to play it safe against them and expect him to run around like he always does.

"We've got to do a good job in our rush lanes of not letting him get out too much," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told reporters Tuesday. "We've got to do a good job of plastering in coverage that if he does run around we don't lose our guys."